a little here & there.

Lenya noodle and I were wearing matching shoes the other day. It is so fun to be her auntie. She is so tiny and petite, but also so active and chatty in her baby talk. I feel like she's the perfect mix of stac &ant and it's going to be fun watching her grow up because can you imagine all the cute clothes I get to spoil her with!?? 

Took G&G to the eye doctor recently and when we were finished Grandpa spotted a bowl of candy at the front desk. He picked up a sucker and handed one to me then took one for himself. Lesson learned: you're never too old for candy. 

My incredible boss/friend Yuko had her birthday this past week so we celebrated in between lessons with cookies, edible arrangements fruit, purple wigs, and birthday crowns. Yuko is a blessing to so many people and I have learned so much from watching her run this business and treat every client with such compassion, consideration and love! 

ALSO : Recently i've been blessed by these songs. WHOAAAA. Please listen if you have the time.

old pine

 Hot sand on toes, cold sand in sleeping bags, I've come to know that memories were the best things you ever had. 

The summer shone beat down on bony backs so far from home where the ocean stood, down dust and pine cone tracks. 

We slept like dogs down by the fire side, awoke to the fog all around us. The boom of summer time. 

We stood, steady as the starts in the woods, so happy-hearted. 

And the warmth rang true inside these bones as the old pine fell we sang just to bless the morning. 

Old Pine, Ben Howard

more camping shots from my very talented friend, Silvia.

Ben Howard is one of my favorite artists and I think his songs are more like poems than

anything. Old Pine is a fav and the lyrics echo pretty closely to what I always feel in the mountains.

Counting down the days till the next adventure. 

CAMPING. SEQUOIA.

When Silvia texted all of us asking if we wanted to go camping in Sequoia National Park...it was a no brainer. We all quickly cleared our weekend schedules and gathered up our camping gear to spend a short 2 days in the mountains. The last time I was in Sequoia was when I was 10 and all I remembered was the GIANT tree you can see : General Sherman. I was so proud of my little prius for making it up that steep mountain and back...so proud infact that I decided to honor my vehicle and name it after that massive tree at the top - Shermy.

pit stop for coffee past the grapevine. We left at 5.30am so this was necessary. 

5 girls. 1 prius. we somehow managed to fit everything haha.

 Biggest tree in the world (not the tallest - but biggest based on sheer volume)

 It was so fun walking through the GIANT FOREST. It definitely made you feel like a tiny spec in the world but at the same time...it reminded me of God's true creative power!

 Psalm 95: For the Lord is a great God and a great King above all gods, in whose hand are the depths of the earth, The peaks of the mountains are His also. The sea is His, for it was He who made it, and His hands formed the dry land." 

 We took a short hike into the forest near our campsite.

It got pretty cold at night, so we made sure to stay nice and cozy.

Praise God for a weekend in His mountains! 

"Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord. For he will be like a tree planted by the water, that extends its roots by a stream and will not fear when the heat comes, but its leaves will be green, and it will not be anxious in a year of drought nor cease to bear fruit." Jeremiah 17.

K O N I C H I W A.

Today Chiaki and I had our last lesson together. It's hard to tell...but she's actually 8.5 months pregnant in this photo so thats why she has to stop tutoring for now!  Japanese moms are seriously amazing. They always look so youthful and cute despite a huge belly or crazy kids running around. I feel lucky to learn from them and help their adjustment to the states! Chiaki is such a sweet and easygoing lady who loves when I recommend new restaurants to try out (Chick-fil-A, Snow Monster, Roscoes, Aloha pizzza...etc) and just received her pregnancy yoga certification, which I learned is totally a thing.

Anyway, i'm so thankful to work with such genuinely nice people who are all so unique in their own right. The extrovert in me really has a field day when I can talk to clients about how they spent their weekend, or what their favorite travel destinations have been, or how their toddler is doing in preschool. And what's even crazier is that all of my clients were born and raised in Japan so they've really never been exposed to church, or God, or really any Christians...ever. Because the style of tutoring I do is very conversational, I find myself bringing up topics like Christmas traditions, my Bible study on Wednesday nights, praying for good health, or finding a Christian husband (which all the ladies get a good laugh out of). But even the basic things like the symbol of the cross is new to them. One of my clients wears a cross necklace so I asked her about it and she said, "oh I have no idea what it means! My sister just got me this as a gift so I wear it."

Helping these clients learn English is great and rewarding...but the real kicker is knowing that for the first time in their lives they have a Christian friend...someone talking to them who knows the stories and the love of Jesus Christ - that really gets me. And to top it off my dear friend and sister in Christ, Kelcie, was recently hired to work at the same tutoring center so we are doubling the Kingdom work there! AMEN!

worship 365.

In college I stumbled upon this blog... worship project 365... created by an artist who dedicated 1 year to creating a visual typography based on a worship song everyday. His work is rad and i've been using it for my computer and phone screen savers ever since. Just thought i'd share the goodness!

recent places with rad people

love these places. & these people.

Krochet Kids HQ, Costa Mesa

On The Alley, Santa Barbara

Paradise Bowl, Manhattan beach

Blacks beach, Torrey Pines 

Wind and Sea, La Jolla